Tag Archives for health

First Senate Aging Committee hearing of new congress looks at wellness

Published in RINewsToday on February 3, 2025

Over a week after the 119th Congress began on Friday, Jan. 3, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) took the reins of the U.S. Special Committee on Aging, becoming its 20thchairman. He follows in the footsteps of former Chairman Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a 3-term Democratic Senator, who lost his reelection bid for a fourth term to Republican Dave McCormick. a West Point graduate, combat veteran and bronze star recipient, a national security, expert, and former hedge fund manager.

On Wednesday afternoon, on Jan. 15 in SD 106, Scott chaired the first Senate Aging Committee hearing of the new Congress, entitled “Improving Wellness Among Seniors: Setting a Standard for the American Dream.” The hearing, lasting two hours and seven minutes, put the spotlight on America’s senior health, personal and community safety and the benefits of socializing and working later in life. 

While established in 1961 as a temporary committee, the Senate Aging Committee became a permanent Senate committee in 1977.  Over the years, aging advocates say that committee has operated in a bipartisan manor.  And the Florida Senator says he will carry on this tradition.

In his opening statement, the Republican Chairman stressed that aging is not a partisan issue. “Whether or not we’d like to admit it or note, we are all aging, and it impacts every single one of us regardless of political party” he said.

“I believe we have a big opportunity in this Committee to work in a bipartisan manner to support and improve the lives of America’s current senior citizens and create change that will improve both the lifespan and health span of future generations, said Chairman Scott, pledging that he and his staff will “work together with all the members here to find common ground and ways we can advance or shared goals.”

As chairman, Scott’s goals are to make sure every senior can say that they are physically healthy, financially secure, live in a safe community and has family and community support. “If you have all four of these things, your senior years can be the best time of your life,” he notes.

Sen. Kristin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the ranking member who has served on the Senate Aging Committee since 2009, congratulated Scott for assuming his chairmanship position, “I look forward to working closely with you during this Congress,” she said, in her opening statement.

According to the Democratic Senator, the Senate Aging Committee has a long history of bipartisanship. “I hope we continue that tradition to advance an agenda that makes sure our loved ones can age with the support they need and with dignity and respect,” she said.

Gillibrand reported that she hopes to continue working on lower prescription drug costs, continuing to guard against financial scams, and protecting programs that older adults and people with disabilities rely on, such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. 

The ranking member noted that this hearing would address how to promote wellness among older adults. “We’ll address issues like accessible housing, financial security, and engagement with the community,” she said, the importance of giving people the tools to live and age well. “Those tools are different for everyone, but include resources like nutrition assistance programs, Area Agencies on Aging, Centers for Independent Living, supportive housing programs, Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security,” she added.  

 Ways to Improve the Health and Wellness of the Nation’s Seniors

During his testimony, Sheriff Bill Prummell rattled off a list of proactive and effective ways that the Sheriff’s Office serves and protects seniors and disabled adults residing in Charlottee County, Florida.  Prummell shared a number of innovative programs with the Senators that could easily be replicated throughout the nation.  

Here are just a few…

According to Prummell, who serves as President of the Florida Sheriff’s Association, his office utilizes trained volunteers to reach out weekly to isolated age 60 and over seniors and disabled adults. The volunteers get to know these individuals thru their weekly phone calls, by giving them Christmas gifts and mailing birthday cards to these individuals on that special date, too. 

Meanwhile, Prummell noted that efforts like Project Lifesaver (using GPS tracking bracelets to locate wanderers) and DNA Scent Kits (enabling participants to keep a DNA scent article at home to be used by K9 Deputies) to assist his deputies in finding missing wanderers.  

And, Operation Pill Drop, even allows individuals to dispose of expired or unwanted medication in drug receptacle boxes at participating district offices, he says, noting that this keeps family members and others from accessing the senior’s medication cabinet to take old and unused medications. 

While she has seen dramatic improvements in preventative and health promotion programs, “we still have a long way to go,” says Witness Maria Alvarez, Executive Director of New York Statewide Senior Action Council.  She used the Senate Aging Committee hearing as a bully pulpit to call for a 2025 White House Conference on Aging be held to “help the country chart a course for addressing the needs of the growing older population as 20 percent of this country is now over the age of 65.”

“But we cannot ignore the need to recognize that having health care and preventive services available is not sufficient if they are not affordable or if discrimination, actual or perceived persists,” Alvarez says.

According to Alvarez, along with Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, the Older Americans Act “has had seismic effect on the elderly population. “These programs provide a framework that seniors can rely on to continue to live and thrive and live with dignity, she says.

Witness Dawn Carr, Ph.D., director of the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University, told the attending Senators that it’s time to reframe aging policy to promote healthy aging, noting that this “will require an expansion of our current aging-related policy goals.” These goals must emphasize supporting healthy aging throughout a person’s lifespan, she said.

“It means expanding healthy aging research, improving health care literacy and access, and incentivizing health behaviors and health interventions based on optimal health function goals,” says Dr. Carr, adding that this means “thinking about viewing older people as a critical resource that improves our society, rather than as a barrier to societal progress.”

Finally, during her testimony, Professor Emerita Dr. Susan Hughes, Ph.D., in the Division of Community Health Sciences and Founding Director of the Center for Research and Health and Aging at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) described the imitations of current funding for health promotion programs for older adults, calling for “transformational re-thinking” of a historical focus on post-acute care.  According to Dr. Hughes, this has resulted in  funding gaps in supporting long-term care and preventative programs for older adults, especially for those with chronic conditions like arthritis. 

Increased funding for wellness programs could reduce health care costs and improve out outcomes, she says, citing the success of UIC’s Fit & Strong! Program, a low cost, evidence-based intervention that helps senior’s manage osteoarthritis through physical activity.

But, despite the success of programs like Fit & Strong! lack of funding and reimbursement mechanisms, limit their impact, charges Dr. Hughes. calling for the Older American’s Act (OAA), particularly Title III D (or a new title), to support the funding of physical activity programming. 

“Ultimately, however, we will see much bigger returns if we develop demonstrations and/or regulations or reimbursement mechanisms that support the dissemination of and access to evidence-based health promotion programs as extensively as possible through Medicare, says Dr. Hughes. 

Walking the Talk

“Helping older people is a bipartisan issue — and the Aging Committee has a history of addressing the challenges that seniors face.  The work that the Senate Aging Committee does is especially critical today, with 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day, and given the uncertainty about the future of critical programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security,” says Max Richtman, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

Taking the reins of the Senate Aging Committee, Chairman Scott pledges to work with Ranking Member Gillibrand in a “bipartisan manner” to improve the lives of America’s seniors.  Will he walk his talk or are these just empty words?   

Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Aging Committee MUST work together to push the Republican-controlled Senate to allocate increased funding for the AOA and Medicare, or create additional reimbursement mechanisms to promote health and wellness programs.  Research tells us that these programs increase physical activity, brings people together to socialize, and enhances brain health, and even cuts medical costs.  Even with a federal budget deficit, in this case Congress must not be penny wise and pound foolish. 

To watch this Senate Aging Committee hearing go to 

https://www.aging.senate.gov/hearings/improving-wellness-among-seniors-setting-a-standard-for-the-american-dream.

The Best Of…Ten Simple Tips for Staying Fit

Published September 26, 2008, All Pawtucket All The Times

         In their younger years aging baby boomers never went onto the basket ball court without wearing their Converse, Reebok, Nike, New Balance or Nautilus tennis shoes.  This generation with their strong interest in health and fitness will not spend their retirement years as a couch potato watching television or sitting in an oak rocker on their porch.  With winter approaching, aging baby boomers can work to stay slim, trim and fit by remaining physically active.

            According to the International Council on Active Aging, aging baby boomers can become physically fit by simply following these tips:

1,  See your physician.   A medical checkup will determine whether you need to consider any medical clarifications before starting an exercise program.  Talk with your physician about any of your concerns or limitations.  After a day or two of exercise, if you experience major discomfort from working out including shortness of breath, headaches, chest pains, sore muscles and dizziness, see your physician.

2.   Look at options.  Do you join a local gym, aerobics in your house, enroll in a yoga class, make time for a daily walk in your neighborhood.  The key to your fitness success is doing your activities regularly.

3.  Know your style.  Some may like to take classes, others may prefer to go solo.  Exercising indoors may be more acceptable to some then outdoor physical activities.  Your schedule may also dictate when you can block out time, either in the morning, lunch time or evening, for your daily fitness program. 

4.  Start off slowly.  Learn to listen to your body. Be realistic when you begin to exercise and don’t overdo it at the beginning.   To reduce soreness and injury always ease your way into your fitness program.

5.  Get a buddy.  An exercise partner can be a great motivator in getting you started and to maintain a daily exercise regimen.  Whether it’s making a date with a friend to take a walk, play racket ball or golf or regularly seeing a personal trainer at your local gym, the personal interaction can motivate you to continue to exercise.

6.  Be realistic.  Don’t try to workout like you did in your younger years.  Always be realistic, setting age-related goals you expect to gain from participating in a physical exercise program.  If enormous benefits do not occur, like losing 30 pounds in one month, you might feel disappointed and quit exercising. 

7.  Make choices.  What are you willing to give up to make room for exercise?  What bad habits, (like smoking, drinking, sedentary and nonproductive activities, are you willing to give up?  It is up to you to choose wisely.

8.  Keep in motion.  Keeping moving all day long. Stretch, walk, march in place, stand and sit daily as often as you can when you are talking on the phone or watching television.  Every step counts.  A step counter will give you an idea as to how many steps you take a day.  Less active people may take about 4,000 steps or fewer per day.  Aim to do 250 to 1,000 additional steps of brisk walking, until you reach 8,000 to 10,000 steps in a day. 

9.   Create a support network.  Get your friends, colleagues and family members to support your new physical activity goals and ask them for their support and encouragement.  Consider getting others to help you keep your physical exercise commitments.  Telephone reminders from your vast network can keep you motivated and on track.

10.  Always Reward yourself.  Once you’ve reached your goals, recognize that milestone.  Treat yourself to something that reminds you what has been accomplished and encourages you to continue. 

One Final Note…Gold’s Gym Opens New Pawtucket Facility

            Finding the right gym can be as easy as getting referrals from your family and friends or shopping around for the right price or specific services that you need, says Mike Kasun, a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym, located at 550 Pawtucket Avenue in Pawtucket. “There are many gyms out there that may be cheaper than others but they just don’t offer a wide range of services.  Price, services provided, classes, and the gym’s location (being close to home or work) are key factors that people should consider when shopping around for a gym membership, he says.    

            Last Saturday,Pawtucket’s Gold’s Gym, officially opened its newly refurbished 25,000 square foot building with state-of-the art exercise equipment, notes Kasun. The new gym facility has 60 pieces of cardio equipment each with their own 14-inch plasma television; 105 pieces of resistance-training equipment, a “Cardio Cinema” where you exercise while watching a full length feature movie, a private woman’s workout room, along with a country club-like locker room. Two hundred free parking spaces surround the new gym.

            When joining Gold’s Gym, a new member receives two free personal training sessions, Kasun tells Your Later Years. “At your first session we assess what the person needs and wants to get out of their membership. Some may want to tone or lose weight while others are more interested in building up muscle strength, he notes. 

            “With information and health data gathered during this initial assessment a workout program can be especially designed for the individual.  During the second session the member is taken through a one hour work out specifically designed for them,” adds Kasun.

            Group exercise programs are also included in the Gold’s Gym’s membership price.   Kasun notes, “We have Les Mills Body Pump Class, offering a full body workout for participants using light weights.  Yoga, Step and other toning classes are also available, too,” he says, noting that all of the personal training staff is nationally certified in the classes they teach.

            Pawtucket’s Gold’s Gym, one of 650 locations nationwide offer AARP members the ability to enroll for only $49 and a savings of up to a 20 percent on their monthly membership as well as a seven day free trial membership period.  For more information, call Gold’s Gym at (401)722-6600.

            Herb Weiss is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers aging, medical and health care issues.  This article appeared in the September 26, 2008 issue of My Back Yard.   He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

Rhode Islanders Will Benefit for Long-Term Care Improvements

Published in Pawtucket times on April 5, 2004

An AARP membership application just arrived last week, inviting me to join the nation’s largest senior advocacy group.

AARP’s invitation to join clearly announces my major milestone in my life, when my June birthday officially pushes me into my 50s.

Celebrating my 50th birthday is no problem for me on a personal level, especially with my philosophy that, as with wine, one gets better with age.

But, as a writer on health care and aging issues, I see problems as to how I might access needed home and community-based services or nursing hoe care in my later years, especially if the state does not fix its problematic long-term care deliverly system.

The graying of Rhode Island’s population is taxing the state’s existing long-term care delivery system and will continue to do so for years to come. In response, state policymakers have taken a Band-Aid approach in trying to fix the fragmented system.

Already the Ocean State’s senior population, ages 60 and over, comprises more than 18 percent of the state’s total population. Gov. Don Carcieri and state lawmakers should be very concerned that Rhode Island’s population continues to age at the same time its long-term care delivery system needs an immediate overhaul.

Everyone knows it is extremely difficult for caregivers and seniors to negative the Ocean State’s long-term care system. Just ask any aging baby boomer (persons born between 1946 and 1964), and many will say that it is extremely difficult to find the needed programs and services to k eep mom and dad at home.

Today, many adult children who are juggling careers and raising children are also shouldering additional caregiving responsibilities to their olde parents. Even if their parents have been able to put a little money aside for their retirement, their children see their inheritance quickly being whittled down by thousands of dollars a month, all spent on costly pharmaceuticals and long-term care services.

Money can buy you anything in life, including home and community-based care and nursing home services.  Staying independent at home is still difficult for may moderate-income Ocean State seniors who cannot pay or find providers , especially with the Department of Elderly Affair’s (DEA) co-pay program not being fully-funded.

DEA’s co-pay program aids more that 1,500 frail seniors who do not qualify for the state’s Medicaid program, but who require ongoing services to remain in their homes. This funding helps pay for certified nursing assistants, who assist seniors with bathing, meals, shopping, laundry and light house keeping. DEA’s co-pay program slso provides subsidies for adult day care.

Last October, DEA’s freeze on new admissions to its co-pay program left more than 200 frail seniors on a waiting list for home and community based services.

While Gov. Carcieri recently gave an additional $ 200,000 in funding to DEA’s co-pay program in his 2005 budget, senior advocates have warned this amount is not enough. It is estimated this additional funding will serve 60 to 80 seniors out of the 200 persons currently on the waiting list.

Meanwhile, DEA has even put a freeze on new admissions to its respite program, which enables caregivers to take a break from the grueling physical and psychological demands of taking care of a frail elderly family resident.  This freeze will continue for the rest of this fiscal year, and nobody is sure how long the freeze for this initiative will last.

Hugh Hall, chair of the R.I. Health Care Association, tells All About Seniors that nursing homes will also be especially hit hard as state funding continues to diminish at the same time as  the cost of services and regulatory requirements increases.

“The state’s budget crisis is causing the governor to not meet a commitment in restructuring an antiquated Medicaid reimbursement system that pays for the care provided to 75 percent of the 10,000 frail residents in nursing homes,” said Hall.

This year, Carcieri, citing budgetary constraints, did not keep his promise to move forward with Part Two of the Medicaid reimbursement restricting, said Hall.

“This will have serious effects on the financial viability and quality of care provided in more than 70 small nursing homes throughout the state,” he said.

The huge budget deficient will continue to force Carcieri’s and state lawmakers hacking of many worthy programs and services previously funded in the state budget.  However, the state’s 2005 budget must adequately fund DEA’s co-pay and respite initiatives that keep frail seniors at home in their communities through the use of less costly home and community-based services.

The state must also keep its promise to adequately fund the state’s nursing homes for providing the needed medical care to those who are too sick to stay at home.

Hopefully, in 15 years, when I reach my next milestone – turning 65 – the state policy makers will have hammered out a much improved long-term care delivery system.

A commitment by Carcieri and state lawmakers to fix today’s fragmented long-term care delivery system will have long-range consequences, ultimately beneiting aging baby boomers, their children, and their children’s children.

Indeed, all future generations in this state will ultimately benefit from sound long-term care policy.